Go get Ben Zobrist, New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are at the top of the American League East division with a record of 55-42 after 97 games.
They are 6 ½ games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and 7 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. Their hated rival, the Boston Red Sox, are 12 games behind, bringing up the rear of the American League East. All is right in their world.
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Everything appears to be clicking on all cylinders with the Bronx Bombers. Their troubled star Alex Rodriguez is putting up fantastic statistics after a season away from the game. He has hit 23 home runs and driven in 58 RBIs this season. Often-injured superstar first baseman Mark Teixeira has 24 home runs and 65 RBIs. They are without a doubt two of the biggest bats within their lineup. They are also probably two of the biggest surprises on the 2015 Yankees roster, given their ages and A-Rod’s yearlong suspension.
The starting pitching has been effective as well. Nathan Eovaldi came to the American League from the Miami Marlins and has been steadily improving. He has a 4.27 ERA and a record of 10-2. Michael Pineda has been another pleasant surprise with a record of 9-7 and 117 strike outs over his 118 innings of work. Masahiro Tanaka has struck out 81 batters over 81 2/3 innings with a respectable 7-3 record. Ivan Nova has been a bit of a hit-and-miss pitcher since returning from Tommy John surgery but has put up a 2-3 record over 29 innings this season. C.C. Sabathia is their former ace of the starting rotation. However, he has had a season that he would probably love to forget. He has a 5.38 ERA and a win-loss record of 4-8. That is not good and the Yankees are probably coming up clueless as to where it would be beneficial to use him.
The infield has been pretty solid as well with Teixeira at first base, Didi Gregorius at shortstop and Chase Headley at third base. Yes, we’ve missed second base. That is probably the one weak area that the Yankees would like to shore up heading toward Friday. They have had a variety of players at second base since Robinson Cano bolted for Seattle for 10 years and $240 million. Some of these have been Stephen Drew, Brian Roberts, Brendan Ryan and recently highly-touted prospect Rob Refsnyder.
The outfield has been good as well. Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Chris Young and Jacoby Ellsbury have played pretty well. There have been times when Beltran and Ellsbury have been out due to injuries. However, the team has managed to allow playing time to the four outfielders, giving days off whenever needed.
A player that the Yankees have been rumored to be interested in and should definitely target is Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is a former divisional rival from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays and is currently playing in California with the Oakland Athletics. He has shown the ability to play the infield as well as the outfield during his career.
Zobrist would fit in perfectly as the team’s second baseman or occasional outfielder to give Carlos Beltran and Chris Young nights off. Current second baseman Stephen Drew is only hitting .188 with 13 home runs and 28 RBIs. Brendan Ryan has not played much this year. He only has 3 RBIs over 19 at-bats. Zobrist could also stabilize the right side of the infield with Teixeira.
The Yankees have changed their tune. In previous years they were always willing to throw prospects away for the chance to obtain the big catch on the July 31 trade deadline. Now they appear unwilling to throw prospects away for just anyone.
If Zobrist is on the radar of the Yankees, the team should do something similar to their Chase Headley trade with the San Diego Padres last July. The Yankees parted with Yangervis Solarte and Rafael De Paula.
Zobrist is an impending free agent. It is uncertain what the Athletics would want but could it take something along the lines of Chris Young and Ivan Nova in a package to get Zobrist? Moving out Nova and reinserting Adam Warren back into the starting rotation would be a welcome addition. The team would still have issues to figure out with what to do with Sabathia, but adding Zobrist would be a great plus.
The Yankees are usually active on July 31. Zobrist should definitely be a target that the team considers adding.
For the first time in a while, the Yankees are dealing from a position of strength. They might be older and more susceptible to injuries. However, they are sitting at the top with the team relatively healthy and not a care in the world.